"Old Huang!! You're amazing!!!"
"Huang Chong!! You're amazing!!!"
"Huang Chong!! Well done!!"
As Huang Chong successfully snatched victory over last year's defending champion Vingegaard just before the finish line atop Plateau de Beille, a string of hysterical shouts suddenly reached his ears from one side of the finish arch.
Although the cheers at the finish line were rolling like thunder, Huang Chong immediately picked out those few cries in his native language.
Those voices were simply too familiar to him.
Turning to look at the shouting crowd, he discovered his close friends Du Wei, Zhou Ming, Li Zifan, and the others.
Those show-offs had finally come to watch him race in person!
Although he still had not won this stage and Pogačar had even extended his lead over him by another 1 minute and 6 seconds, putting him 1 minute and 51 seconds behind and all but ending his hopes of winning the Tour de France overall, at least on the slopes of Plateau de Beille, he had not let last year's Tour de France champion further close the gap between them—
By much.
After all, second overall in the Tour de France came with not only €200,000, but also 1,040 UCI ranking points. Red Bull–Bora–Hansgrohe wanted that position, and Huang Chong certainly wanted it in his own hands too.
Moreover, if he could prove that he had performed better than Vingegaard in the Tour de France, it would play a crucial role in driving up his market value after the race.
After all, as a rookie in his first year, finishing second only to Pogačar in the world's most elite road cycling race was an almost limitless display of potential!
It was no exaggeration to say that offers from top teams would come raining down on him like snowflakes.